Pupils born later in the academic year should be allowed to pass key tests with fewer marks than their older classmates, experts said yesterday.

They claim it would be fairer because of the ‘large and significant difference’ in academic performance between pupils born at the start and end of the academic year.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank said younger pupils should be able to pass tests at seven, 14 and their GCSEs at 16 with lower marks set on a sliding scale according to the month in which they were born.

The IFS report said younger pupils were far less likely to achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C, compared to classmates 11 months older.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank said younger pupils should be able to pass tests at seven, 14 and their GCSEs at 16 with lower marks set on a sliding scale according to the month in which they were born. Posed by models

Those born in August are also more frequently classed as having special educational needs, are less likely to go to university at 18 and have less confidence in their academic abilities than those whose birthdays fall in September.

Although the study found the ‘detrimental effects’ did not appear to continue into adulthood, when the chances of being employed and average earnings were the same, the Government needed to address ‘the fact that children born at different times of year have to sit the tests when they are different ages’.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said adjusting pass marks would open the door for other problems to be weighted against results, such as a child’s social background.

He added: ‘Age is an extremely important factor but if you make an adjustment because of the date of birth then there is an argument about including other concessions, such as disability or time off school or background.’

Ellen Greaves, co-author of the study, said: ‘Our findings point to a simple solution to the pitfalls of testing children born at the start and end of the academic year – age-adjusting the cut-offs required for pupils to achieve particular grades would ensure that no child is prevented from going on to further or higher education simply because of the month in which they were born.’

IFS programme director Claire Crawford added: ‘Our research continues to show very large differences in attainment between children born at the start and end of the academic year, which affects the post-compulsory education options open to them.

‘While we find little evidence that these differences persist into adulthood, this does not mean that policymakers should be let off the hook.

‘Children who are relatively young in their year have lower self-confidence, lower belief in their academic ability and are more likely to start smoking younger than their relatively older peers.

‘This suggests that it is still vital for policymakers to act to overcome these differences.’

The report, which was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, revealed 53.7 per cent of younger children gained five good GCSEs, compared to 60.1 per cent of older children.

One in eight were labelled as having mild special education needs at age 11, compared to just one in 14 older children. They were also more likely to indulge in ‘risky behaviours’, such as under-age smoking.

The report recommended the age-adjusted scores should be used when assessing whether students can continue into further and higher education.